Doing Business in China

China Business: A First Person Account

Eons ago, a veteran China hand responded to one of our blog posts by writing me with his own story of China problems. I found his story both typical and fascinating and sought his permission to run it. He gave me permission and then I promptly lost it in the shuffle until now. This story

Part time employees in China

China Expat Pay: Splitting with Hong Kong is Illegal and Dangerous

As China steps up its tax enforcement against both foreign companies and foreigners, we are seeing increasing instances where expat employees working in China are having their salaries “split” by their Chinese or foreign company employers. We strongly counsel our employer clients against doing this sort of salary splitting and we even more strongly counsel

manufacturing red flags

China Expat Employment Contracts: Red Flags

As part of our China employment work, our China employment lawyers are often tasked with helping expats navigate the China employee onboarding process, including reviewing and revising their employment-related documents, such as employment contracts. This involves our making sure our clients’ contracts protect their interests and achieve their goals and minimize the likelihood of confusion

little boy wearing construction outfit

What Stanley Black & Decker’s Shenzhen Departure Tells Us

As reported in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Stanley Black & Decker has closed its Shenzhen factory, “[laying] off all of its 1,000 workers after 25 years of operations.” This, according to the SCMP, “reflects the changing business environment in the world’s second-biggest economy.” In reality, however, it highlights long-standing, ongoing China risks. Stanley

Chinese company due diligence Seal or Chop

Is That A Real Chinese Company Chop/Stamp/Seal?

How to determine the validity of the China company chop/stamp/seal that will be going on your China contract and why this matters. What exactly is a China company chop? How to distinguish a fake company chop from a real one.

China translators

China Unreliable Entity Regulations

On September 19, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“Regulations”), which took effect on the same date. Though we have not seen an actual list of unreliable entities, the Regulations set out the general principles for the Unreliable Entity List (UEL) system. Who can be included on the UEL? The

china law blog

Beware of China Lawyers

Yesterday I attended a USPTO webinar, How the U.S. government can help companies protect and enforce their IP in China. It was informative and I highly encourage anyone interested in IP protection in China to attend future webinars. Moreover, it brought back memories of my own stint in the government helping American companies protect their

cybersecurity

China Cybersecurity: No Place to Hide

Contents of this Article: I. Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics: The Party is the leader of everything. II. China’s Comprehensive Network Security Program III. China’s Regulatory System: The Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS 2.0) IV. Cryptography is not a solution. V. A Concrete Example: The Golden Tax Malware Program  VI. How Companies are Pushed into an Insecure

hands tied

Xinjiang. Ten-Foot Pole.

There is plenty that could be written about the plight of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang, most of it negative. And with Xi Jinping declaring his Xinjiang policies “completely correct,” there is pretty much no room for hope things will improve (unless you view the complete sinification of Xinjiang as a desirable end

china law blog

12 Action Items for China Trademarks

Our international IP lawyers love lists and the below is a list of the 12 things we most often recommend regarding China trademarks to our clients that do business in China and have at least one brand they care about. Most of these items apply with equal force to most other countries as well. 1.